Alumnus Jesse Bernal of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School has been appointed the Vice President for Inclusion and Equity Division at Grand Valley State University in West Michigan. Bernal is expected to join the university in late February.
The mission of Grand Valley’s Inclusion and Equity Division is to provide a inclusive learning and working environment that supports a diverse community of students, staff, and faculty remove barriers to full participation, create and maintain inclusive excellence, develop intercultural competency, advance social justice, build and engage the community, and advance a campus climate of inclusion and equity. “Grand Valley is a leader for equity in public high education,” Bernal said. “I look forward to partnering with all members of the campus community and our neighbors across West Michigan to build on the solid groundwork set by long-standing diversity champions. We all have take in this work, and together we will continue to advance our commitment to the inclusion and success of all our students and community members.”
Jesse Bernal is currently the Director of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion at Santa Clara University. As Director, Bernal worked with the Associate Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion to developed strategies for the recruitment, retention, and success of faculty from underrepresented groups, promoted a student climate of inclusive excellence by collaborating with many university offices in sponsoring curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular programs, and coordinated with the Offices of Enrollment Management, Affirmative Action, and Human Resources in efforts to recruit a more diverse student body and staff.
Before joining Santa Clara University in 2014, Bernal coordinated systemwide diversity and inclusion initiatives at the University of California as University Diversity Coordinator at the Office of the President (2010-13). He also previously worked on educational outreach and academic support programming for underrepresented students as Coordinator of the Educational Outreach Program at UC Merced (2010) and Program Manager for pre-college and first-year summer transition programs at UC Santa Barbara (2006-2010). From 2008-2010, Jesse was appointed to the University of California Board of Regents as student Regent and advocated for a range of statewide policies and programs to support California’s student population, particularly raising the profile of underrepresented communities such as LGBT students, undocumented students, veterans, and students of color.
Bernal received his Ph.D. in Cultural Perspectives from the Department of Education, having worked with advisor Dr. Jenny Cook-Gumperz. His research has focused on first-generation, underrepresented minority college student transitions and development with significant work in assessment and methodologies, program evaluation, organizational culture, affirmative action and non-discrimination policy and law, and models of diversity in higher education.